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Marinated Fresh Mozzarella with Herbs

This Marinated Fresh Mozzarella with Herbs is simple, but it will get gobbled up quickly at a party! And this appetizer or salad with fresh herbs is low-carb, gluten-free, and South Beach Diet Phase One. Use the Recipes-by-Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.

This tasty Marinated Fresh Mozzarella with Herbs might be the easiest appetizer you've ever whipped up, and I'm guessing it will impress your friends. After I discovered mozzarella pearls at Costco and made Tomato, Olive, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad, I heard from a lot of readers who loved the idea of the little balls of fresh mozzarella. I thought it might be fun to try another way to use them, and this recipe is adapted from one I found in How to Cook Everything.

I used mostly basil, with just a tiny bit of oregano, but I'm thinking mint would be great in this, and in fact you could probably use any type of fresh herbs that appeal to you. (Edit: Thanks to Joanne from Eats Well with Others who tells me this is called Bocconicina which means "little balls" in Italian.)

Basil goes so perfectly with fresh mozzarella, and I can't wait until my now-tiny plants produce a lot more of it. Basil is an annual herb that's easy to grow from seeds. This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, managed by Haalo, and hosted this week by Graziana from Erbe in Cucina. Check the Rules for Weekend Herb Blogging if you'd like to participate.

Drain the mozzarella pearls, or if you're using larger pieces of fresh mozzarella, cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Wash the herbs, spin dry or dry with a paper towel, and then finely chop with a chef's knife.

Mix olive oil, chopped herbs, salt, fresh ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes. I used just 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, but you can bump it up a bit more if you'd like it spicy.

After the fact I realized that marinating this in a yellow container made for bad photos, but whatever type of container you use, marinate for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.

Drain mozzarella in a strainer placed in the sink while you wash and chop herbs. Be sure mozzarella is drained well, and pat dry with paper towels if needed.

Wash herbs, spin dry in salad spinner or blot dry with paper towels, then finely chop enough fresh herbs to make 1/2 cup. Mix chopped herbs with olive oil and red pepper flakes, and season with a generous amount of salt and fresh ground black pepperl

Put mozzarella pieces into a plastic or glass container with a tight-fitting lid, add olive oil mixture, and stir to combine. Put lid on container and marinate mozzarella at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, turning container over a few times so the mozzarella stays covered with the olive oil-herb mixture. Serve at room temperature.

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Kalyn - mozzarella "cherries" (as they're known here, probably for their sizze) are great when marinated and then rolled up in a slice of zucchini (I've blogged about it here). And yes, basil and mozzarella are made for each other!

I've been serving mozzarella balls in home made pesto for years and it's always a hit. But I guess I've gotten in a rut. You've given me a push to try different combinations of fresh herbs and seasonings.

Love the suggestions. Love seeing how other people are using the little mozzarella balls, and I think marinating this in pesto is a brilliant idea for people who don't have fresh herbs, will try that for sure. And I love the idea of adding sun-dried tomatoes and olives too. Joanne, thanks for the Italian name. I'll add that to the post.

I love fresh mozzarella. I first came across a variation of this years ago. It's so simple and delicious but so many people don't know how to use these ingredients. Your variaion looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing!!

I cut cheese sticks and put them in this marinade. Afterwards I put cherry tomatoes on top skewed with a toothpick. Makes a great appetizer! If I have leftover basil, I'll skew a small piece in between. So yummy!

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